Peer Support Specialist (Crisis Walk-in) (Weekend Overnight & 4 Days Off Each Week + $43/hr Potential)

Position Summary

As a Peer Support Specialist working the crucial Weekend Overnight Shift (Thur–Sat), we recognize the exceptional commitment required to serve during these demanding hours. You are the essential cornerstone of our crisis team, and we reward this dedication with enhanced compensation, including substantial shift differentials that contribute to a total potential pay of up to $43.00/hr.

• You are the warm welcome and the living proof that recovery is not just possible, but happening right now.
• Serving as the front-line expert for adults entering our Crisis Walk-In (CWI) center, you are a Peer-Expert who uses your own authentic lived experience with mental health or substance use recovery to build immediate, non-clinical rapport with neighbors in their most vulnerable moments.
• In this pivotal role, you bridge the gap between crisis and stability, working alongside a multidisciplinary clinical team to meet every individual with dignity rather than a diagnosis.
• Your presence ensures that in moments of greatest need—whether de-escalating a tense situation or co-creating a safety plan—fear is replaced with hope, and no one walks their recovery path alone.
• Work Location & Expectations: This role requires daily in-person engagement at Indio Crisis Walk-in Center location.
• 47-915 Oasis St., Indio, CA 92201 Key Responsibilities

1. High-Impact Crisis De-escalation The First Voice

• Serve as the primary point of contact for adults entering in distress, using lived experience to model calm and hope while lowering the "temperature" of the room.
• Active
• Engagement: Utilize non-clinical, peer-based de-escalation techniques (such as the "Intentional Peer Support" model) to build immediate rapport and prevent the need for more restrictive interventions.
• Environmental
• Awareness: Monitor the "Front Door" energy, proactively engaging with participants who appear overwhelmed or anxious before a crisis peaks. 2.
• Collaborative
• Safety
• Planning
• Peer-Led
• Planning: Facilitate the creation of individualized Safety Plans that focus on the participant's strengths, triggers, and preferred coping strategies—not just "contracting for safety."
• Post-Crisis
• Grounding: Support participants in the vulnerable hours following a clinical assessment, helping them process their experience and internalize their immediate stabilization goals.
• Wellness
• Tools: Introduce participants to wellness tools (like WRAP or similar frameworks) that they can take home as tangible resources for self-management. 3.
• Expert
• Community
• Navigation
• Warm
• Handoffs: Move beyond providing a list of phone numbers; personally assist participants in navigating the "Front Door" of social services, housing resources, and outpatient programs.
• Bridge to
• Recovery: Act as the liaison between the CWIC and community-based peer organizations, ensuring participants have a "peer-to-peer" connection waiting for them upon discharge.
• Resource
• Advocacy: Educate participants on how to advocate for their own needs within the behavioral health system, empowering them to become active participants in their care. 4.
• Team
• Integration &
• Advocacy
• The
• Human
• Element: Participate in multidisciplinary team huddles to provide the peer perspective on participant care, ensuring the team sees the person behind the crisis.

Documentation

Maintain accurate, timely, and person-centered documentation that reflects the participant’s progress and the unique value of the peer intervention.

Requirements: Qualifications & Requirements

1. The Core Requirement

• Lived
• Experience
• The
• Peer
• Foundation: You must have personal, lived experience with mental health challenges and/or substance use recovery.
• The
• Goal: You are comfortable and skilled at using your own recovery journey as a professional tool to inspire hope and model stability for others. 2.
• Certification &
• Education
• California
• PSS
• Certification: Must possess (or obtain within 6 months of hire) a valid Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Certification issued by the California Mental Health Services Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA). Don't forget, if you have your active CA PSS Certification in hand on your start date, you are eligible for the $500 sign-on bonus.

Education

• High School Diploma or GED equivalent or higher is required. 3.
• Essential
• Skills
• Crisis
• Competency: Ability to remain grounded and empathetic in a fast-paced, high-intensity clinical environment.

Communication

• Strong verbal and written skills for documenting peer notes and collaborating with a multidisciplinary clinical team.
• Cultural
• Humility: A deep commitment to serving a diverse population in the Coachella Valley with dignity and respect. 4. Preferred Skills Certified Parent, Caregiver, and Family Member (CPCF) Specialization highly preferred. Youth/Transition-Age Youth (TAY) Peer Specialization highly preferred.
• Bilingual (Spanish): While not required, the ability to provide peer support in fluent Spanish qualifies for a pay differential.
• Specialized
• Training: Priority will be given to candidates with existing training in Intentional Peer Support (IPS), WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan), or Motivational Interviewing. 5.
• Compliance &
• Background
• Clearance: Must be able to pass a standard background check and drug screening (consistent with healthcare facility requirements).

Transportation

• Must have reliable transportation to the
• Indio site for 7:00 PM shift starts.

Culture

We believe that to take care of our community, we must first take care of our team. 1. Work-Life Balance The 4-Day Weekend: Every single week, you have four consecutive days off (Sunday - Wednesday). This isn't a perk; it’s our standard. It provides the deep rest required to remain effective in crisis work.

Predictability

• No on-call shifts, no last-minute schedule rotations, and no surprise overtime. Your life outside of work belongs to you.
• Fewer
• Commutes: Reduce the gas, the mileage, and the time on the road commuting only 3 times per week. 2.
• A
• Peer-Led
• Model
• Lived
• Experience as
• Expertise: You are an expert in navigating the challenges of the behavioral health system. Our clinical team views your lived experience as a vital diagnostic and stabilization tool.
• Supportive
• Supervision: We provide regular, peer-specific supervision and debriefing. We understand the emotional weight of crisis work and ensure you have the space to process it.
• Professional
• Growth: We don't just want you to have a job; we want you to have a career. We provide ongoing training in advanced peer practices. Our Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Because we serve a diverse community in the Coachella Valley, we actively encourage applications from people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and individuals with unique recovery backgrounds. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.